Alto Paraná Atlantic forests (NT0150)
Neotropic > Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests > Alto Paraná Atlantic forests (NT0150) Peer review in process - unreviewed document presented This text has been copied from WWF original which is now unavailable. Alto Paraná Atlantic forests Where Southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and easternmost Argentina Biome Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests Size 186,800 square miles (483,800 square kilometers) -- about the size of California Critical/Endangered · Location and General Description · Biodiversity Features · Current Status · Threats · Ecoregion Justification · References More Photos This area, extending through southern Brazil, and western Argentina and Paraguay, represents the largest portions of the Brazilian Atlantic semi-deciduous forest region. This region serves as a corridors for species migration between moist and semi-deciduous forests and also between Atlantic forests and Cerrado habitats (Klein 1985; Mantovani 1993). Due to this, species richness is high, although endemism is relatively low. Only five percent of the original forest remains. There are a number of protected areas; however, timber extraction, agriculture and hunting threaten the remaining small patches of forest. Location and General Description Parana/Parnaíba interior forests represent a large block of Atlantic semi-deciduous forest spread from Southeast Brazil and Paraguay to northern Argentina. The climate is subtropical with annual precipitation around 1,200 to 1,600 mm (Salis et al. 1995). In the dry season, from April through September, frosts occur frequently. The ancient plateaus and slopes of the Brazilian Plateau occupies this portion of Brazil. Soils throughout the ecoregion range from the fertile to impoverished latosols and podzols. Forests are spread from river plains to middle-level plateaus at 800 m elevation. The main vegetation type of this ecoregion is Atlantic semi-deciduous forest, with an emergent strata 35 m tall (Veloso et al. 1991). Canopy layers are populated largely by tree species of the families Lauraceae, Apocynaceae, Leguminosae and their respective genera Ocotea, Aspidosperma, and Machaerium (Rodrigues & Shepherd 1992). Some focal tree species include Cariniana estrellensis, Copaifera langsdorfii, Alchornea triplinervia, and Aspidosperma polyneuron. Gallery forests and flooded grasslands are also found bordering the ecoregions larger rivers (Gibbs & Leitão Filho 1978; Campos 1999). Richness of plant and animal species that characterizes semi-deciduous forests sets this ecoregion apart from other portions of the Brazilian Atlantic forest. About 40 percent of tree canopy species are deciduous or semi-deciduous (Morellato et al. 1989). Biodiversity Features Parana/Paranaíba interior forests represent the largest portions of the Brazilian Atlantic semi-deciduous forest ecoregion. These forests are rich in species of Leguminosae, Myrtaceae, Lauraceae, and Rutaceae (Leitão Filho 1992). In the Brazilian State of São Paulo alone, at least 662 woody plant species have been described (Leitão Filho 1992). Plant species are distributed along elevational and latitudinal gradients (Klein 1985, Salis et al. 1995), producing singular plant species composition through out the ecoregion along the lines of elevation. Paraná/Paranaíba interior forests are home to Atlantic rare vertebrates such as the golden-rumped lion tamarin (Leontophitecus chysopygus) and the brown howler monkey (Alouatta fusca) (Marinho-Filho 1992; Cullen Jr. & Padua 1999), which have a few populations scattered in the remaining remnants of these forests. Dozens of threatened plants such as Trichilia elegans and Persea punctata and mammals including Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) are found (São Paulo 1998, 1999) in this coastal forest ecoregion. Some representative birds of the ecoregion include black-fronted piping-guan (Pipile jacutinga), helmeted woodcreeper (Dryocopus galeatus), and São Paulo tyrannulet (Phylloscartes paulistus). From an evolutionary point of view, Parana/Paranaíba interior forests have played a key role as corridors for species migration between moist and semi-deciduous forests and also between Atlantic forests and Cerrado habitats (Klein 1985; Mantovani 1993). Parana/Paraiba interior forests represent the largests and best protected portions of the Brazilian Atlantic semideciduous forest. These forests are rich in species of Leguminosae, Myrtaceae, Lauraceae and Ruraceae (Leitão Filho 1992). Only in São Paulo Brazilian state, at least, 662 woody plant species are found (Leitão Filho 1992). Plant species are distributed along altitudinal and latitudinal gradients (Klein 1985, Salis et al. 1995), producing singular plant species composition. Current Status Parana/Paranaíba forests have been reduced in area by 95 percent in Brazil (SOS MATA ATLÂNTICA 1998). Remaining vegetation is represented by approximately 17,211 km2 of semi-deciduous forests. The largest blocks of forest (300 to 1,000 km2 are protected public areas (Lima & Capobianco 1997), but thousands of 0.01 to 1 km2 remnants, surrounded by pastures and agriculture, represent the dominant biological scenery (Viana et al. 1997). Types and Severity of Threats Such remnants are expected to lose a significant part of their biodiversity due to the increase of lianas and ruderal species (Viana et al. 1997; Tabarelli et al. 1999). Protected areas occupy only 1,866.3 km2 of this semi-deciduous forest ecoregion (Silva & Dinnouti 1999). Timber extraction, agriculture and hunting represent continuous threats to the biodiversity of Paraná/Paraiba forests. Such activities will increase the pressure on timber trees, game species, and large carnivores (Cullen Jr. & Pádua 1999; Cullen Jr. et al. 1999). Justification of Ecoregion Delineation Most Brazilian expertise (e.g., C. T. Rizzini, H. P. Veloso, ) recognize Parana/Paraíba interior forests as a distinct dry extension of the Atlantic coastal forest set along the depression of Paraná river and its tributaries. Broad scale delineation’s for these interior forests in southern Brazil were based on the vegetative classifications of the IBGE map (1993). Linework was derived by lumping current vegetative coverage’s of the IBGE map into their historic limits, including: "secondary semideciduous forests" and "secondary deciduous forest". The boundary for the extension between Bahia forests and Serra do Mar forests was drawn along the Rio Grande, Rio Preto, and Rio Paraiba to the north and along the "dense ombrophilous forest" delineation, to separate this from these floristically distinct forests. The linework was then refined at a priority setting workshop (WWF, in prep.), which also established the borders along the western boundary with the Humid Chaco. The historic extension of this ecoregion into Argentina was according to Morello (1968), Daniele and Natenzon (1994), and Cabrera (1976). References Cabrera, A. L. 1976. Regiones fitogeográficas Argentinas. Enciclopedia Argentina de Agricultura y Jardinería, Second Edition, Vol. II, Buenos Aires, Argentina. CAMPOS, J.B. (Org.). 1999. Parque Nacional Ilha Grande. Instituto Ambiental do Paraná, Maringá. CULLEN JR, L. & PÁDUA, C.V. 1999. Onças como detetives da paisagem. Ciência Hoje 26:54-57. CULLEN JR. L., BODMER, R.E. & PÁDUA, C.V. 1999. Caça e biodiversidade nos fragmentos florestais da Mata Atlântica, São Paulo, Brasil. In: T.G. Fang, O.L. Montenegro, and R.E. Bodmer, editors, Manejo y conservación de fauna silvestre en America Latina. University of Florida, Florida. Daniele, C., and C. Natenzon. 1994. Regiones Naturales de la Argentina. Draft map. Argentina National Parks Department, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fundação Instituto Brasilero de Geografia Estatástica-IBGE. 1993. Mapa de vegetação do Brasil. Map 1:5,000,000. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. GIBSS, P.E.& LEITÃO FILHO, H.F. 1978. Floristic composition of an area of gallery forest near Mogi Guaçu, state of São Paulo, S.E. Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Botânica. 1:151-156. KLEIN, R.M. 1985. Síntese ecológica da floresta estacional da bacia do rio Jacuí e importância do reflorestamento com essências nativas (RS). Comunicações do Museu da PUCRS, Série Botânica 32:25-48. LEITÃO FILHO, H.F. 1992. A flora arbórea da Serra do Japi. In: Morellato, L.P.C. (org.). História Natural da Serra do Japi: Ecologia e preservação de uma área florestal no Sudeste do Brasil. Editora da UNICAMP, Campinas. pp. 40-63. LIMA, A.R. & CAPOBIANCO, J.P.R. (Org.). 1997. Mata Atlântica: avanços legais e institucionais para sua conservação. Documentos do ISA n° 4. MANTOVANI, W. 1993. Estrutura e dinâmica da floresta Atlântica na Juréia, Iguape-SP. Tese de Livre Docência. Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo. MARINHO-FILHO, J. 1992. Os mamíferos da Serra do Japí. In: Morellato, L.P.C. (org.). História Natural da Serra do Japi: Ecologia e preservação de uma área florestal no Sudeste do Brasil. Editora da UNICAMP, Campinas. pp. 264-286. MORELLATO, L.P.C., RODRIGUES, R.R., LEITÃO FILHO, H.F. & JOLY, C.A. 1989. Estudo comparativo da fenologia de espécies arbóreas de altitude e floresta semidecídua na Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo. Revista Brasileira de Botânica 12:85-98. Morello, J. 1968. La vegetación de la República Argentina, No. 10: Las grandes unidades de vegetación y ambiente del Chaco Argentino. Buenos Aires, Argentina. RODRIGUES, R.R. & SHEPHERD, G.J. 1992. Análise da variação estrutural e fisionômica da vegetação e características edáficas, num gradiente altitudinal na Serra do Japi. In: Morellato, L.P.C. (org.). História Natural da Serra do Japi: Ecologia e preservação de uma área florestal no Sudeste do Brasil. Editora da UNICAMP, Campinas. pp. 64-96. SALIS, S.M., SHEPHERD, G.J. & JOLY, C.A. 1995. Floristic composition of mesophytic semideciduous forests of the interior of the state of São Paulo, Southeast Brazil. Vegetatio 119:155-164. SÃO PAULO. 1998. Fauna ameaçada no Estado de São Paulo. Secretaria do Meio Ambiente, Série PROBIO, São Paulo. SÃO PAULO. 1999. Espécies da flora ameaçadas de extinção no Estado de São Paulo: lista preliminar. Secretaria do Meio Ambiente, São Paulo. SILVA, J.M.C. & DINNOUTI, A. 1999. Análise de representatividade das unidades de conservação federais de uso indireto na Floresta Atlântica e Campos Sulinos. In: Conservation International (ed.). Workshop Avaliação e Ações Prioritárias para Conservação dos Biomas Floresta Atlântica e Campos Sulinos, São Paulo. http//www.conservation.org. SOS MATA ATLÂNTICA. 1998. Atlas da evolução dos remanescentes florestais e ecossistemas associados no domínio da Mata Atlântica no período 1990-1995. Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica, Instituto Socioambiental e Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, São Paulo. TABARELLI, M., MANTOVANI, W. & PERES, C.A. 1999. Effects of habitat fragmentation on plant guild structure in the montane Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil. Biological Conservation 91:119-127. Veloso, H. P., Rangel-Filho, A.L.R. & LIMA, J.C.A. 1991. Classificação da vegetação brasileira adaptada a um sistema universal. IBGE, Rio de Janeiro. Viana, V. M., Tabanez, A.J. & Batista, J.L. 1997. Dynamics and restoration of forest fragments in the Brazilian Atlantic moist forest. In: Laurance, W.F. & Bierregaard Jr., R.O. editors, Tropical forest remnants: ecology, management, and conservation of fragmented communities. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. pp. 351-365. WWF et al. In prep. Priority setting workshop for Parana-Paraiba ecoregion. Foz do Iquazu April, 2000. Prepared by: Jose Maria C. da Silva Reviewed by: In process For more general information on this ecoregion, go to the WildWorld version of this description. All text by World Wildlife Fund © 2001 Category:WWF terrestrial ecoregions Category:Neotropical Category:NT0150